Fiona Koetsier: TESOL/EAP teacher
Hawthorn English Language Centre, Singapore.
Email: fiona@thekoetsiers.com
Tony Whitmore
Tony Whitmore: ESL Teacher & Student Counsellor
Isik College, Geelong Campus
Email: awwhi@deakin.edu.au
Skype: tonywhitmore
OUR TEACHING CONTEXTS
The authors of this site work in a variety of situations and contexts
Nihaya's context
Al-Taqwa College is a private school in Truganina. Its staff comes from diverse backgrounds which gives it a rich environment. Teachers are from Australia, Singapore, India, Russia, Lebanon, Palestine, Pakistan, Egypt, Turkey, Fiji, and South Africa.
The student body also comes from different backgrounds. Students come from Bosnia, Albania, Lebanon, Palestine, Egypt, Somalia, Syria, Kuwait, Iraq, Ethiopia, Eritrea and Singapore.
The school provides ESL classes to its students. The school has 3 Computer Labs. Everyone has access to the internet, and has his/her email. To view our website, please go to http://www.wicv.net/.
George's context
I teach at Fukui Kodai University in Japan - a technical University.This is one of my smaller classes. As you can see, we are able to make easy use of a data projector for information delivery. Here is a powerpoint presentation I put together last semester. It was recorded to WMV using Camtasia screen capture software. Students in this text based reading class, not only read, but they also see and hear, with text, pictures, audio and video embedded within presentations. Speaking tasks can also be demonstrated easily. The presentations really add to student interest and save on a lot of repeated chalk work or handouts.
English is compulsory at this university, and student motivation is generally low. English is rarely needed or practiced, outside of the weekly English class. With this issue in mind, I am now considering how CMC might help students to engage in meaningful English interactions outside the classroom.
Fiona's context
Hawthorn-Singapore is one of the many English language centres in Singapore that cater to the enormous number of international students from the surrounding Asian region. Hawthorn students, who come from many countries - China, Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, Korea, Taiwan Cambodia and Myanmar- often continue tertiary studies in Singapore.Teachers at Hawthorn are from Singapore, Australia, America, the UK and Czechoslovakia. Courses consist of 10 week blocks from pre-Elementary level through to English for Academic Purposes(EAP). Most EAP students have their own laptops, access to the internet and mobile phones. Our website can be found at http://www.hawthornenglish.edu.sg/aboutus.htm
Tony's Context
I teach ESL at Isik College at the Geelong primary campus. Isik is a Turkish word and means 'light' or 'illumination'. We aim to advance the educational prospects of students with links to Turkey and other Muslim countries.
The majority of my students have English as their second language, although many were born in Australia. The majority come from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds. They hope to enter university. In 2007 95% of boys and 97% of girls sitting for the VCE were offered a university place.
I contribute to improving our students’ English results in the long term. My advice includes obscure sayings like: "Exterminate the Sibboliths". In a biblical story, people who could not properly pronounce 'shibbolith' were not permitted to pass through a border-check. My students are those people, and I try to help them eliminate the language and attitudes that may act as a barrier to social advancement. After all, a young man establishing social networks Melbourne University will not get far if their most heartfelt and explicit expression is the c-bomb.
THE DESIGNERS OF THIS SPACE
Nihaya Basha
Email: n_bashaa@hotmail.com
George Knapman
Fukui University of Technology: Japan
Resume: http://georgeknapman.wikispaces.com/Resume
Email: GeorgeKnapman@hotmail.com Skype: NappoXXX
Fiona Koetsier
Fiona Koetsier: TESOL/EAP teacherHawthorn English Language Centre, Singapore.
Email: fiona@thekoetsiers.com
Tony Whitmore
Isik College, Geelong Campus
Email: awwhi@deakin.edu.au
Skype: tonywhitmore
OUR TEACHING CONTEXTS
The authors of this site work in a variety of situations and contextsNihaya's context
The student body also comes from different backgrounds. Students come from Bosnia, Albania, Lebanon, Palestine, Egypt, Somalia, Syria, Kuwait, Iraq, Ethiopia, Eritrea and Singapore.
The school provides ESL classes to its students. The school has 3 Computer Labs. Everyone has access to the internet, and has his/her email. To view our website, please go to http://www.wicv.net/.
George's context
Students in this text based reading class, not only read, but they also see and hear, with text, pictures, audio and video embedded within presentations. Speaking tasks can also be demonstrated easily. The presentations really add to student interest and save on a lot of repeated chalk work or handouts.
English is compulsory at this university, and student motivation is generally low. English is rarely needed or practiced, outside of the weekly English class. With this issue in mind, I am now considering how CMC might help students to engage in meaningful English interactions outside the classroom.
Fiona's context
Hawthorn-Singapore is one of the many English language centres in Singapore that cater to the enormous number of international students from the surrounding Asian region. Hawthorn students, who come from many countries - China, Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, Korea, Taiwan Cambodia and Myanmar- often continue tertiary studies in Singapore.Teachers at Hawthorn are from Singapore, Australia, America, the UK and Czechoslovakia. Courses consist of 10 week blocks from pre-Elementary level through to English for Academic Purposes(EAP). Most EAP students have their own laptops, access to the internet and mobile phones. Our website can be found at http://www.hawthornenglish.edu.sg/aboutus.htm
Tony's Context
The majority of my students have English as their second language, although many were born in Australia. The majority come from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds. They hope to enter university. In 2007 95% of boys and 97% of girls sitting for the VCE were offered a university place.
I contribute to improving our students’ English results in the long term. My advice includes obscure sayings like: "Exterminate the Sibboliths". In a biblical story, people who could not properly pronounce 'shibbolith' were not permitted to pass through a border-check. My students are those people, and I try to help them eliminate the language and attitudes that may act as a barrier to social advancement. After all, a young man establishing social networks Melbourne University will not get far if their most heartfelt and explicit expression is the c-bomb.